


A Cup Large Enough

by Tonko



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-06
Updated: 2015-08-06
Packaged: 2018-04-13 05:16:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4509237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tonko/pseuds/Tonko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You have to start somewhere.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Cup Large Enough

**Author's Note:**

> A fic originally written back in 2011 for an icon challenge on LJ.

Zuko and Aang were the only ones left at the camp, the rest had taken Appa towards the nearest town for supplies. Katara had refused to let either of them come along; she'd declared the risk too great, and Sokka had backed her up. Aang might've pointed out that Appa was pretty obvious too, but he didn't really mind. Zuko was less jumpy when Katara wasn't around. 

They cooked part of dinner by Aang making bits of food fly upward for Zuko to instantly cook with precision fireball broiling.

"That's control," Aang marveled, catching a perfectly roasted mushroom on a cushion of air. He spun it to cool it a bit, and popped it into his mouth. This was a lot different from the forms Zuko was trying to teach him. This was firebending as fine-tuned as his toying with the air to spin, well, mushrooms.

"It's... fast food," Zuko remarked, smiling a little. Aang grinned back. "You try," Zuko said, and threw a piece of potato skyward. Aang groped for the right technique, going through shorter, faster, yet less emphatic motions of the one of the basic forms, then slammed his palm towards the potato's downward arc. Fire shot up and engulfed the potato, and a blackened chunk tumbled down. Zuko caught it, unconcerned by the heat, and raised his eyebrow at Aang. "This would be good training if it wasn't a waste of food," he said. Crestfallen, Aang frowned at the ruined potato. Zuko stared at him for a second, then added "don't feel bad." He tossed the potato off into the woods. "Cooking this way is one of the hardest things to do with firebending. You should see what the real chefs can do with it. It's pretty different from fighting."

"Maybe you can teach me someday," Aang said, and flew a few more pieces up for Zuko to roast. 

"Yeah?" Zuko sort-of agreed, with a sidelong look. "Sure."

After they'd gone through the last pieces of potato and mushroom, Zuko cooked himself a fat frogfish stuffed with wild herbs at the traditional pace by the fire, and Aang stirred a little bit of lentil soup. Aang crouched over his pot with one hand near the fire, surreptitiously encouraging the water to a boil with careful, fine movements. Or trying to, at least.

At some point, Zuko realized what he was doing. "There's an easier way," he said, then paused, and seemed to come to a decision. "Watch." He moved off to rummage through his bags for the box with his tea set in it, and Aang sat back on his heels, waiting. Zuko poured water into the little teapot, then cupped it in his hand. He left the lid off, and Aang peered at the water. Zuko didn't move, but steam started to rise, and a few second later, a slow boil.

"Hey, that was fast!" Aang waved a hand over the pot, confirming the intensity of the heat against his skin.

Zuko added leaves, then set the pot aside to steep. He filled two of the small cups with plain water, and handed one to Aang. "Watch out. If you go too fast, you'll flash-boil it and burn yourself." 

"Oh," Aang's eyes widened as he looked back at the soup pot he'd been trying to warm. He held the cup a little farther away from himself, and took a slow breath. "Okay, I'm ready."

Zuko held his cup out next to Aang's. "Now, uh, here's what you do."

Aang settled in, ready to learn.


End file.
